This Singapore social enterprise brought clean water to more than 88,000 people
If there were an antidote to the general climate of volatility and anxiety that weighs on our electric current epoch, Wateroam'south success story might fit the bill. It's got all the requisite feel-adept elements of altruism, plotted with a running theme of innovation in the face of instability.
Established in 2022 by David Pong, 30, Lim Chong Tee, 28, and Vincent Loka, 26, the company has, through its portable h2o filtration organization, supplied clean drinking water to more than than 88,000 people in rural villages and disaster-struck zones across South-east Asia.
Its client list reads like a roster of Singapore'south far-reaching humanitarian organisations, including the Singapore Red Cross, Globe Vision International Singapore and Mercy Relief. And amongst the COVID-19 pandemic, the trio'south goal of universal access to beverage water that can help prevent the spread of diseases has a clear resonance.
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Similar many social enterprises, the impetus behind Wateroam was sparked by a life-changing encounter, or, equally Oprah would proclaim, that "aha moment". This expression, used in relation to Pong, may seem like a frivolous flourish, though. The stoic former finance professional recalls how overseas volunteer trips confronted him with the challenges faced by people who consume water directly from wells and rivers.
"In 1 remote village, we witnessed someone about drinkable from a cup with a tapeworm inside. I realised how the lack of clean drinking water is a critical issue Singaporeans don't see on a daily basis. We should do something about this, being privileged to alive in a water hub with access to technology," he said.
The button came in 2013, when Pong, then property multiple part-time gigs and smarting from unsuccessful sallies into business, was beset past malaise. "I was chasing the '5Cs' many in Singapore are geared towards achieving. Nil wrong with that, but I felt there was something missing," he shared.
With the intent of "channelling his youth and energy into meaningful causes", he joined HydroPreneur, a Public Utilities Board initiative that nurtures water technology offset-ups to ameliorate global access to clean drinking h2o. At that place, he met Lim and Loka, two environmental engineering students whose passions ran parallel to his. The former shared similar encounters with communities living off the grid, while the latter has a penchant for tinkering with hardware to solve issues.
Through the programme, which continued them to venture capitalists and industry experts, they presented their winning thought for a portable filtration system. That'southward non to say their initial prototype was flawless. On early trips to examination out their product in Indonesia and Cambodia, for instance, i of the team members suffered a slipped disc while lugging their unwieldy 40kg device through rough terrain.
So they continued refining their production. More than 10 iterations later, they arrived at their current masterpiece – a iv.2kg pump that tin can provide 100 people with clean water for up to two years. The design was conceived by Loka, who says he studied environmental engineering to assist people, but never quite possessed business aptitude. "Our product has a level of intuitiveness, every bit about people living in rural areas are familiar with bicycle pumps," he explained.
The ROAMfilter Plus' genesis is a sum of parts. According to Pong, at the product's incipient stages, the team had to travel regularly to sympathize the diurnal challenges faced by their beneficiaries and test out solutions.
They also constantly sought grants and seed funding – disbursed by the likes of Spring Singapore (now Enterprise Singapore), DBS and Singapore International Foundation – to finance their trips and prototypes. Mayhap this is where the team'due south strategic acuity sets it firmly apart from other social enterprises that have fallen by the wayside.
Pong recounts initially reaching out to NGOs through LinkedIn, to identify communities in demand. "Five years agone, the platform was not so popular, and a good way to get the attending of NGOs with clogged mailboxes," he explained.
Remarkably, about 80 per cent of the organisations they approached responded, and in 2014, Wateroam attained its first airplane pilot partner – World Vision International Singapore.
The company'south outset mission was revealed on the dark of New Year's Eve in 2014, as E Malaysia was deluged past heavy rains. Lim, Loka and Pong were called to immediately railroad train relief workers from Globe Vision International Singapore – who were deployed the next twenty-four hour period to assist alluvion victims – to utilise their portable filter.
Since and so, Wateroam has worked with more than l organisations. Almost of them are NGOs and government agencies with the cultural awareness required to convince locals to adopt a new system. Among its beneficiaries are Rohingya refugees and victims of the 2022 Lombok earthquake. Their concerted efforts have earned plaudits from the Un, which, in 2016, named Loka a Young Leader for Sustainable Development Goals.
While the company bankrupt fifty-fifty the same yr and has managed to plow a turn a profit, social bear upon is still an intrinsic office of its DNA.
"There's an unspeakable joy that tin can be derived from seeing communities collecting buckets of make clean water together," said Lim. The most expressive of the grouping, he seems charged with the bright-eyed verve of someone a decade younger.
Lim shared that the trio nevertheless regularly works on the ground, which justifies the quotidian grind of running a company. "I experience virtually alive when I'one thousand deployed on the field. Talking to the various partners, from grassroots leaders to doctors and relief workers, is invigorating," he said.
While such statements tin hands be dismissed as hyperbole, Wateroam'due south steady ascent overturns perceptions of social enterprises beingness unrealistic or oblivious to the bottom line.
The start-upward employs about 20 staff members – interns included – and continues to invest heavily in research and evolution. Information technology's an anomaly in an industry that struggles with financial sustainability. Co-ordinate to Pong, the success of a social enterprise hinges on several factors, including a solid production that is relevant to market place needs, a trustworthy team and investor conviction.
"For case, getting into food recycling this year is attractive, considering many businesses are concerned about food and plastic waste. Every season has its own challenges, but constantly adapting in a fashion that responds to consumers' demands can help sustain companies," he said.
Change is a constant for Wateroam, which is currently focused on leveraging digital technology to offer their clients meliorate remote analytics of their system's performance. This comprises sensors that tin reveal the quality of water produced.
Loka, all the same, asserts that their visitor's victories take been founded on a shared vision of balancing social impact with profitability. "Many social enterprises offset off focusing on doing adept, with profit as an afterthought. Disagreements over their stop goal may cause companies to disband."
"At that place's an unspeakable joy that tin exist derived from seeing communities collecting buckets of clean water together." – Lim Chong Tee
Business organization Nether A NEW LENS
Something all co-founders can agree on, though, is the tilt in perceptions towards social enterprises. For 1, they are increasingly regarded as legitimate businesses. "I call back this misconception that social enterprises are the same as non-profit organisations is gradually fading as bigger companies first to go more socially conscious," said Lim.
This shift that sees corporations adopting a more than responsible ethos, Pong asserts, can be traced to consumer need.
"People are starting to seek socially conscious practices in the businesses they support. This is driving businesses to consider social enterprise equally part of their solar day-to-day operations, rather than a Corporate Social Responsibleness project they do on the side," he said.
Merely what fuels the demand for this new model of heightened benignancy? "I do think there is a full general change in perception towards societal well-existence. In the by, we viewed the earth as segregated pockets; starting time-globe or tertiary-world countries that were segmented into lower-, heart- and upper classes. In that location is now a realisation that nosotros are more connected than nosotros idea we were, and society tin can only truly flourish when everyone is able to pb a dignified life," said Lim.
The concept of universality doesn't come across as idealistic, when framed in the context of global emergencies. In fact, Wateroam is seeing a rise in need for their products. "With climate change, there are a lot more than natural disasters happening, and then people will require new h2o solutions," explained Lim.
For now, the company is focused on helping to enhance disaster preparedness, particularly in Indonesia and the Philippines. For Loka, watching their efforts parlayed into improved living weather for various communities has been a rewarding journeying. "Across profit-making, I appreciate how business can be used as a force for good," he said.
"There is now a realisation that we are more than continued than we thought nosotros were, and society can only truly flourish when everyone is able to lead a dignified life." – Lim Chong Tee
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Source: https://cnalifestyle.channelnewsasia.com/people/singapore-social-enterprise-wateroam-250971
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